The Punjab and Haryana Excessive Court docket in a latest order uplifted the ban it had beforehand imposed on grant of parole to Dera Sacha Sauda Chief and rape and homicide convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.
Whereas reversing its earlier order on Friday, the excessive courtroom stated that the Haryana authorities can now grant parole below Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners (Non permanent Launch) Act, 2022, to Dera Sacha Sauda Chief.
The Excessive Court docket had in February this yr restrained the State from granting parole to Dera Chief with out its permission.
A division bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Anil Kshetarpal disposed of the petition moved by Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) towards alleged misuse of regulation in grant of short-term launch to the self-styled godman.
The excessive courtroom held that the Haryana authorities had rightly utilized the Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners (Non permanent Launch) Act, 2022 to grant profit to the Dera Chief. And additional rejected the argument that Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners (Non permanent Launch) Act, 1988 ought to have been utilized in his case.
“The item of the Act of 2022 is to grant short-term launch to the prisoners for good conduct with sure circumstances. It’s apparent that the Act of 2022 would apply to all such functions made by the prisoners in search of parole/furlough on or after 11.04.2022 when the Act of 2022 got here into operation. Pertinently the applicability of the Act of 2022 can’t be relatable to any incident e.g. offence or conviction, which passed off previous to the submitting of an utility below Part 3/4 of the Act of 2022…The corollary to the aforesaid is that the 1988 repealed Act wouldn’t apply for the applying which respondent No.9 made for launch on parole which led to the passing of impugned order…” the excessive courtroom famous.
The excessive courtroom refused to make any feedback on future functions for short-term launch by Ram Rahim.
“This Court docket would additionally not prefer to remark upon the potential of any breach in regulation & order/public orders on short-term launch of respondent No.9 sooner or later since any such try would result in venturing the world of assumptions & presumptions.”
Nonetheless, it added that in case of any utility is made by him for short-term launch, the identical shall be thought of “strictly in accordance with the provisions of the Act of 2022 with out the competent authority indulging in arbitrariness or favoritism or discrimination.”
In Februrary, the Punjab and Haryana Excessive Court docket had restrained the State from granting parole to Dera Chief with out its permission.
The Excessive Court docket had earlier pulled up the Haryana Authorities for granting parole for 91 days every in 2022 in addition to 2023 to self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim. The excessive courtroom had additionally requested the Haryana authorities to file an affidavit with particulars of what number of individuals having such legal antecedents and sentenced in three instances have been granted this profit.
Ram Rahim who was then on Parole until March 10, was directed to give up to jail authorities.
A division bench of Appearing Chief Justice GS Sandhawalia and Justice Lapita Banerji stated that this case makes attention-grabbing studying preserving in view the background and the antecedents of Ram Rahim, who has conviction in three instances towards him, has been launched for 91 days every within the years 2022 and 2023.
The case was heard by one other bench of the excessive courtroom on Friday, that disposed the petition whereas noting that the self-styled godman has not received parole after March 2023. It additionally refused to dwell upon the deserves of the matter saying that the interval of parole of 40 days granted to him was over in March 2023 itself.